Happy Christmas from Romania.
A truly beautiful song
Dec 24, 2007
Nov 28, 2007
Religion of Tolerance & Peace
What you can't call Mohammed, Teddy bears attacked by Islamists. You can call your horrible kid Muhammed, but not a cuddly Teddy!
Teacher faces Lash
The religion of tolerance and peace, no tolerance and no peace.
Teacher faces Lash
The religion of tolerance and peace, no tolerance and no peace.
Oct 20, 2007
Ruined Church on Inishmore
I took this photo on one of the Aran Islands Inishmore early one morning. Some people say they can se a Bishop in the picture.
Oct 2, 2007
Drunk Scots Vote
SCOTS really rate the Holyrood Parliament - though they weren't too sure of it at first.
A survey by whisky makers Grant's ranked Londoners' and Scots' impressions of the greatest Scottish innovations of the past 50 years.
Scots rated the parliament first, followed by the Forth Road Bridge and Dolly the sheep.
Glasgow art museum the Burrell Collection was fourth, followed by Harry Potter.
But Londoners ranked the Forth Road Bridge top - and even found room for the deep fried Mars Bar in sixth place.
Grant's master blender David Stewart said: "It's sad that for some, Scotland will be forever associated with deep-fried snacks. Perhaps Londoners need to get out of the capital."
TOP TEN
As voted for by Scots
1 The Scottish parliament 22%
2 The Forth Road Bridge 22%
3 Dolly the sheep 15%
4 The Burrell Collection 10%
5 Harry Potter 7%
6 Megabus 4%
7 Edinburgh International Book Festival 2%
8 Ultimo Bra 2%
9 Rab C Nesbitt 2%
10 Scottish Ballet 1%
This poll was published by a Scots whisky maker, Have another one Jimmie!!
A survey by whisky makers Grant's ranked Londoners' and Scots' impressions of the greatest Scottish innovations of the past 50 years.
Scots rated the parliament first, followed by the Forth Road Bridge and Dolly the sheep.
Glasgow art museum the Burrell Collection was fourth, followed by Harry Potter.
But Londoners ranked the Forth Road Bridge top - and even found room for the deep fried Mars Bar in sixth place.
Grant's master blender David Stewart said: "It's sad that for some, Scotland will be forever associated with deep-fried snacks. Perhaps Londoners need to get out of the capital."
TOP TEN
As voted for by Scots
1 The Scottish parliament 22%
2 The Forth Road Bridge 22%
3 Dolly the sheep 15%
4 The Burrell Collection 10%
5 Harry Potter 7%
6 Megabus 4%
7 Edinburgh International Book Festival 2%
8 Ultimo Bra 2%
9 Rab C Nesbitt 2%
10 Scottish Ballet 1%
This poll was published by a Scots whisky maker, Have another one Jimmie!!
Sep 23, 2007
Spanish Eating
In Spain recently I ordered a meal, on the menu it was called Ox.
When it arrived amidst much hilarity I discovered that I had to cook my own meat.
in fact the little stove provided was remarkably efficent and I managed to cook 2kgs of meat fairly quickly and rather well I thought. Unfortunately my daughte and one of my grandchildren sitting opposite finished covered in a fine spray of fat.
Sep 22, 2007
Gardens of Paris
A couple of years ago we visited a number of gardens in France on a tour. Interestingly the one we admired the most was Monet's. Though it was the least grand of them all. Versailles and Fontainebleau were very large and formal whereas Monet's garden was a riot of colour and shape.
Jul 13, 2007
Jun 28, 2007
A Couple of Favourite Quotes
"When I was an atheist my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it?... Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist--in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless. I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality--namely my idea of justice--was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning."-
C. S. Lewis.
Annie Dillard on the Church
On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does any-one have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake some day and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return. (Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk, Harper & Row, 1982)
C. S. Lewis.
Annie Dillard on the Church
On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does any-one have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake some day and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return. (Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk, Harper & Row, 1982)
May 11, 2007
The Dawkins Delusion
I came across an article on Richard Dawkins about how his lecture tours were going. He apparently had one stop in the place Jerry Falwell used to preach. Reading this I was stuck by their similarities. Both preached what they believe with 'evangelical' zeal. Both used their 'faith' to make lots of money. Check out Dawkins website, this a big money site. Two sides of the same coin, a lesson to us all on how to make money using what we believe or don't believe.
Humanism or atheism is a wonderful philosophy of life as long as you are big, strong, and between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. But watch out if you are in a lifeboat and there are others who are younger, bigger, or smarter. William Murray
Humanism or atheism is a wonderful philosophy of life as long as you are big, strong, and between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. But watch out if you are in a lifeboat and there are others who are younger, bigger, or smarter. William Murray
Apr 17, 2007
Ofra Haza - Eshal
Amazing woman, amazing talent, amazing ambassador through music to Arab and Israeli alike. She is greatly missed. May she rest in peace.
Apr 16, 2007
Mar 10, 2007
God & Mammon
I just thought this poor chap needed a little more publicity....
"My name is David M. Kees. I own The Buzz Café at 340 Florida St. downtown. I am unable to get a license to serve alcohol because of the 300-foot ordinance and my restaurant’s proximity to St. James Episcopal Church.
I have tried for two years to open my restaurant in the evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The only alternative for me is to get written permission from the church in the form of a waiver.
The church (represented by Mark Holland) declined to grant me that document! I still respect Father Holland and the church, but as of Feb. 23 I am fed up with the hypocritical statements and actions by the church.
St. James allows alcohol at receptions and its own Super Bowl parties. On Feb. 23, the church closed off the parking lane on Fourth Street to sell gumbo to the public during lunch. This is direct competition for my restaurant and customer parking.
The church now appears to be a monopoly on the restaurant, catering, education, and worship business (in that order). Thank you for your time.
David M. Kees
café owner
Baton Rouge"
Plus they have he most awful website..St James
"My name is David M. Kees. I own The Buzz Café at 340 Florida St. downtown. I am unable to get a license to serve alcohol because of the 300-foot ordinance and my restaurant’s proximity to St. James Episcopal Church.
I have tried for two years to open my restaurant in the evening from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The only alternative for me is to get written permission from the church in the form of a waiver.
The church (represented by Mark Holland) declined to grant me that document! I still respect Father Holland and the church, but as of Feb. 23 I am fed up with the hypocritical statements and actions by the church.
St. James allows alcohol at receptions and its own Super Bowl parties. On Feb. 23, the church closed off the parking lane on Fourth Street to sell gumbo to the public during lunch. This is direct competition for my restaurant and customer parking.
The church now appears to be a monopoly on the restaurant, catering, education, and worship business (in that order). Thank you for your time.
David M. Kees
café owner
Baton Rouge"
Plus they have he most awful website..St James
Jan 20, 2007
Big Brother Big News!!
I must confess I have never watched 'Big Brother' apart from the occasional glimpse whilst visiting some one watching the programme.
The whole concept does not appeal and I would have thought extremely boring. Not so I am told 'fascinating cutting edge reality TV'.
So now some person unbelievably named 'Goody' has racially abused someone else. This is now world news.
Am I the only person who does not care?!!!
The whole concept does not appeal and I would have thought extremely boring. Not so I am told 'fascinating cutting edge reality TV'.
So now some person unbelievably named 'Goody' has racially abused someone else. This is now world news.
Am I the only person who does not care?!!!
Dec 6, 2006
More on Kate, the Cahthlicks friend
Kate has spawned a new set of Cups and memorabilia with her 'intelligent' remarks about Catholics
Halp us Kte were catoliks
Halp us Kte were catoliks
Being Ill, nearly dying!!
I have not been posting as I have been ill. Sick you say 'it must have been bad'. Yes it was and still is. I have had a cold, a really bad cold, thick head, could not breathe. Now I have developed the 'cough'. Yes the 'hacking cough'. I have taken all the medicine, 'Panadol', throat lozenges, 'Beechams Honey and Lemon', even used the 'Vick inhaler' and I am still sick. I turned on the TV for a little light relief and discover we are going to put a permanent space station on the Moon as a stepping stone to exploring Mars. Cure my 'COLD' I shout!!
Nov 20, 2006
Episcopalians are bright Catholics are thick
Below is a quote from the new big chief of the Episcopal Church in America, with a response by Amy Welborn
How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?
About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.
Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?
No. It’s probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.
Well, I would respond to this but I'm afraid I'm going to occupied for the next few hours practicing reading the next Henry and Mudge book before I attempt to read it to my 5-year old. 'Cause it's really hard, you know. Oh, and then I'm going to go out and throw my 5th child's dirty diapers in the St. Joseph River. 'Cause I'm a Catholic.
How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?
About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.
Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?
No. It’s probably the opposite. We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.
Well, I would respond to this but I'm afraid I'm going to occupied for the next few hours practicing reading the next Henry and Mudge book before I attempt to read it to my 5-year old. 'Cause it's really hard, you know. Oh, and then I'm going to go out and throw my 5th child's dirty diapers in the St. Joseph River. 'Cause I'm a Catholic.
Nov 19, 2006
From 'First Things' Episcopal Church
I have posted this long article from the 'Apostasy' mal list as I thought it amusing and relevant..
First Things ^ | 10/25/2006 | Jordan Hylden
Jordan Hylden writes:
Seeing as how I am a new Episcopalian and still learning about my
church, I attended a public address given a couple weeks back by
Bishop Gene Robinson at General Theological Seminary, in the Chelsea
district of Manhattan. There was a pleasant reception before his
remarks, supplied nicely with wine and hors d'oeuvres platters and
attended by a quietly chattering crowd of 60-year-olds outfitted by
L.L. Bean. Sad to say, I did not know a soul there, and mostly stood
off to one side, listening to people talk about things like the new
art galleries over in Williamsburg. One gentleman politely asked me
if I was there because of my "orientation," to which I responded
that I was in fact simply there out of curiosity. Later on I
reflected that my response could have been taken several ways, but,
as it happened, there was not much time for reflection, and I along
with the L.L. Bean folks soon went inside the chapel for the
evening's talk.
The chapel of course is a beautiful structure, built one hundred and
twenty years ago in the English Gothic Revival mode with donations
from the Morgans, Pierponts, and Vanderbilts, and featuring a
magnificent reredos behind the altar that tastefully reflects the
gender equality that subsists among the saints in glory. It did not
take long for the nave to fill up, although, unfortunately, it took
longer for the event to get started, which gave me ample time to
flip through the pewbooks. (The African-American hymnal looked to be
quite good; the feminist hymnal, however, seemed filled with titles
like "In Praise of Hildegard We Sing.") I had nearly gotten to the
point of thumbing through the BCP church calendar when the Very Rev.
Ward B. Ewing, dean of the seminary, rose to give the welcome, which
of course was quite warm. Following him was Christine Quinn, the
first openly gay speaker of New York's city council, who reminded us
all that "If you believe in yourself, if you define yourself, if you
love yourself, you can overcome any odds that anybody puts in front
of you." This met with loud applause, after which we all sat quietly
in our seats to consider how the glorious company of the saints had
believed in themselves.
The bishop himself was next. He began by thanking Ms. Quinn for her
wise words and reminded us that most places in America—like Iowa,
Georgia, or New Mexico—were not like the Chelsea district of
Manhattan. Indeed, I thought. But that should not deter us, he said,
from going out into the rest of the country to take back religion.
For years, he said, the Church had been the world's greatest
oppressor, until finally, in the 1960s, people began to wake up and
set things straight. People started to realize that what the Church
had taught all along about lots of things just wasn't true, and so
they started acting prophetically as a voice for change. That, he
said, is the true mission of today's Church: To find out where God
is already at work outside the Church and to join God there. Because
I did not grow up in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, this
required a bit of sorting out in my mind, but eventually it all
seemed to fit. "The Church is the world's greatest oppressor," I
reasoned, "but God is at work outside the Church, so our mission as
Christians is to work to change the Church until it becomes like,
you know, those places outside the Church." It still seemed like I
was missing something, but I figured I could think about it later.
Bishop Robinson's talk was, on its surface, all about LGBT
inclusion, but he said it actually was about much more than that. At
its most basic level, it was about the end of patriarchy, which to
him explained why he met with such opposition. The audience nodded
approvingly—civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, and the sexual
revolution were all part of a single struggle for liberation, from
the Man, or something like that. Freedom, justice, and sex were all
the same thing! I liked this idea. Being an Episcopalian, I thought,
was going to be fun.
But if that was the good news, then what came next was the bad news.
Many people, he warned, will be hurt and confused by our prophetic
struggle against patriarchy. Some of them will probably even leave
the Church. And, what's more, we won't even have the same
relationship to something called the "Anglican Communion" anymore..
This all sounded worrying. But, the bishop said, that was just the
price we would have to pay for doing the right thing. If people were
hurt and confused, or if they left the Church, then we would just
have to deal with it later. He reminded us that Jesus was the
ultimate example of someone who did the right thing and paid a price
for it. He told us how, when he was made bishop, he had to wear a
bulletproof vest and have an armed guard standing by, and how they
had made special plans if he had been shot to take him into another
room and make him a bishop before he died. He was being modest, of
course, but we all thought he had been very brave. And although I
had been worried at first, I started to feel sort of tough and
rebellious. Maybe, I thought, I could be as brave as Gene Robinson
some day. I stopped thinking about those people who would be hurt or
confused. They would just have to get with the program.
Next, it was time for the question-and-answer session, and I was
lucky enough to ask the bishop about something that had been
bothering me. "Do you think," I asked, "that conservatives from
places like South Carolina and progressives from places like New
Hampshire should stay together in the same church?" Bishop Robinson
gave a surprising answer—yes, he said, they should stay together,
because part of the genius of Anglicanism is keeping everybody
together no matter what. The audience members puzzled over this. On
the one hand, being tolerant and inclusive people, we didn't want to
tell people what to do or push anybody away. But on the other hand,
wasn't taking back religion from the conservatives the whole point
of all this? Aren't the conservatives in the Church the world's
greatest oppressors—just the people we're fighting against? This
seemed strange to me, but I supposed that maybe it would be all
right so long as the conservatives stayed in far-off places like
South Carolina, where they belonged. Although, I didn't think that
everyone in the audience liked the bishop's answer, and I wasn't
sure that I did, either.
Finally, it was time for one last question. A gentleman in the back
stood up and asked, "What do you think we need to do to save General
Theological Seminary?" This came as quite a surprise to me—how could
such a nice seminary need to be saved? But apparently it was true.
Bishop Robinson, who was on the board of the seminary, said that the
building plans would have to go forward if the seminary were to be
saved. I wasn't quite sure what that all meant, but later on I found
out that the seminary was almost bankrupt and wanted to knock down
its library and put an apartment building there instead. It seemed
to make sense, although it was very sad—it explained why there was
so much old scaffolding on the buildings (sort of like the Cathedral
of St. John the Divine up on Morningside Heights), and why there
were plastic sheets on the library books to keep them from getting
wet when the roof leaked. But that wasn't even the saddest part. It
turned out that the seminary's neighbors in Chelsea weren't letting
them put up the apartment building. They thought it would be too
noisy and ugly, and they wanted things to stay just the way they
were. The neighbors, it turned out, didn't much like the seminary at
all. They had even organized petition drives and protests to tell
the seminary so.
I didn't understand any of this. Before I had felt all tough and
cool, fired up and ready to take religion back from the
conservatives, but now it seemed like even our friends in the
Chelsea district of Manhattan didn't want us anymore. "How could
they do this?" I thought. Many of them were gay, and we were
sticking up for them! We were doing the right thing! Acting
prophetically, no matter what! It was all very sad, and I started to
wonder if anyone cared about the Episcopal Church anymore. People
had started to file out of the chapel by this point, and I started
to follow them. As I did, I overheard a young man about my age say
to his friend, "You know, I agree with his politics and everything,
but I'm not religious, so this wasn't all that interesting to me. I
bet my dad would have liked it, though."
I was pretty depressed, and I started walking glumly back to my
apartment. On my way home, I passed by an old Episcopal church that
seemed sort of different from normal churches—it didn't say anything
about services, but there was a back door open, with loud music
playing inside and a bunch of kids standing out front. I looked
closer, and realized what had happened. Why, it had been turned into
a nightclub! Loud and exciting music thrummed from inside the
sanctuary, where young people like me were dancing and drinking and
having a good time. I thought back to what I had learned earlier
that night, about how freedom and justice and sex were all the same
thing, and how being the Church meant joining the world in the
struggle against patriarchy. Finally, I started to feel good again.
It was going to be a tough fight, but there would be lots of fun
along the way. I smiled, looking up at the nightclub-church, and
thought that maybe we were starting to get it right after all.
Jordan Hylden is a junior fellow at First Things.
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=510
First Things ^ | 10/25/2006 | Jordan Hylden
Jordan Hylden writes:
Seeing as how I am a new Episcopalian and still learning about my
church, I attended a public address given a couple weeks back by
Bishop Gene Robinson at General Theological Seminary, in the Chelsea
district of Manhattan. There was a pleasant reception before his
remarks, supplied nicely with wine and hors d'oeuvres platters and
attended by a quietly chattering crowd of 60-year-olds outfitted by
L.L. Bean. Sad to say, I did not know a soul there, and mostly stood
off to one side, listening to people talk about things like the new
art galleries over in Williamsburg. One gentleman politely asked me
if I was there because of my "orientation," to which I responded
that I was in fact simply there out of curiosity. Later on I
reflected that my response could have been taken several ways, but,
as it happened, there was not much time for reflection, and I along
with the L.L. Bean folks soon went inside the chapel for the
evening's talk.
The chapel of course is a beautiful structure, built one hundred and
twenty years ago in the English Gothic Revival mode with donations
from the Morgans, Pierponts, and Vanderbilts, and featuring a
magnificent reredos behind the altar that tastefully reflects the
gender equality that subsists among the saints in glory. It did not
take long for the nave to fill up, although, unfortunately, it took
longer for the event to get started, which gave me ample time to
flip through the pewbooks. (The African-American hymnal looked to be
quite good; the feminist hymnal, however, seemed filled with titles
like "In Praise of Hildegard We Sing.") I had nearly gotten to the
point of thumbing through the BCP church calendar when the Very Rev.
Ward B. Ewing, dean of the seminary, rose to give the welcome, which
of course was quite warm. Following him was Christine Quinn, the
first openly gay speaker of New York's city council, who reminded us
all that "If you believe in yourself, if you define yourself, if you
love yourself, you can overcome any odds that anybody puts in front
of you." This met with loud applause, after which we all sat quietly
in our seats to consider how the glorious company of the saints had
believed in themselves.
The bishop himself was next. He began by thanking Ms. Quinn for her
wise words and reminded us that most places in America—like Iowa,
Georgia, or New Mexico—were not like the Chelsea district of
Manhattan. Indeed, I thought. But that should not deter us, he said,
from going out into the rest of the country to take back religion.
For years, he said, the Church had been the world's greatest
oppressor, until finally, in the 1960s, people began to wake up and
set things straight. People started to realize that what the Church
had taught all along about lots of things just wasn't true, and so
they started acting prophetically as a voice for change. That, he
said, is the true mission of today's Church: To find out where God
is already at work outside the Church and to join God there. Because
I did not grow up in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, this
required a bit of sorting out in my mind, but eventually it all
seemed to fit. "The Church is the world's greatest oppressor," I
reasoned, "but God is at work outside the Church, so our mission as
Christians is to work to change the Church until it becomes like,
you know, those places outside the Church." It still seemed like I
was missing something, but I figured I could think about it later.
Bishop Robinson's talk was, on its surface, all about LGBT
inclusion, but he said it actually was about much more than that. At
its most basic level, it was about the end of patriarchy, which to
him explained why he met with such opposition. The audience nodded
approvingly—civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, and the sexual
revolution were all part of a single struggle for liberation, from
the Man, or something like that. Freedom, justice, and sex were all
the same thing! I liked this idea. Being an Episcopalian, I thought,
was going to be fun.
But if that was the good news, then what came next was the bad news.
Many people, he warned, will be hurt and confused by our prophetic
struggle against patriarchy. Some of them will probably even leave
the Church. And, what's more, we won't even have the same
relationship to something called the "Anglican Communion" anymore..
This all sounded worrying. But, the bishop said, that was just the
price we would have to pay for doing the right thing. If people were
hurt and confused, or if they left the Church, then we would just
have to deal with it later. He reminded us that Jesus was the
ultimate example of someone who did the right thing and paid a price
for it. He told us how, when he was made bishop, he had to wear a
bulletproof vest and have an armed guard standing by, and how they
had made special plans if he had been shot to take him into another
room and make him a bishop before he died. He was being modest, of
course, but we all thought he had been very brave. And although I
had been worried at first, I started to feel sort of tough and
rebellious. Maybe, I thought, I could be as brave as Gene Robinson
some day. I stopped thinking about those people who would be hurt or
confused. They would just have to get with the program.
Next, it was time for the question-and-answer session, and I was
lucky enough to ask the bishop about something that had been
bothering me. "Do you think," I asked, "that conservatives from
places like South Carolina and progressives from places like New
Hampshire should stay together in the same church?" Bishop Robinson
gave a surprising answer—yes, he said, they should stay together,
because part of the genius of Anglicanism is keeping everybody
together no matter what. The audience members puzzled over this. On
the one hand, being tolerant and inclusive people, we didn't want to
tell people what to do or push anybody away. But on the other hand,
wasn't taking back religion from the conservatives the whole point
of all this? Aren't the conservatives in the Church the world's
greatest oppressors—just the people we're fighting against? This
seemed strange to me, but I supposed that maybe it would be all
right so long as the conservatives stayed in far-off places like
South Carolina, where they belonged. Although, I didn't think that
everyone in the audience liked the bishop's answer, and I wasn't
sure that I did, either.
Finally, it was time for one last question. A gentleman in the back
stood up and asked, "What do you think we need to do to save General
Theological Seminary?" This came as quite a surprise to me—how could
such a nice seminary need to be saved? But apparently it was true.
Bishop Robinson, who was on the board of the seminary, said that the
building plans would have to go forward if the seminary were to be
saved. I wasn't quite sure what that all meant, but later on I found
out that the seminary was almost bankrupt and wanted to knock down
its library and put an apartment building there instead. It seemed
to make sense, although it was very sad—it explained why there was
so much old scaffolding on the buildings (sort of like the Cathedral
of St. John the Divine up on Morningside Heights), and why there
were plastic sheets on the library books to keep them from getting
wet when the roof leaked. But that wasn't even the saddest part. It
turned out that the seminary's neighbors in Chelsea weren't letting
them put up the apartment building. They thought it would be too
noisy and ugly, and they wanted things to stay just the way they
were. The neighbors, it turned out, didn't much like the seminary at
all. They had even organized petition drives and protests to tell
the seminary so.
I didn't understand any of this. Before I had felt all tough and
cool, fired up and ready to take religion back from the
conservatives, but now it seemed like even our friends in the
Chelsea district of Manhattan didn't want us anymore. "How could
they do this?" I thought. Many of them were gay, and we were
sticking up for them! We were doing the right thing! Acting
prophetically, no matter what! It was all very sad, and I started to
wonder if anyone cared about the Episcopal Church anymore. People
had started to file out of the chapel by this point, and I started
to follow them. As I did, I overheard a young man about my age say
to his friend, "You know, I agree with his politics and everything,
but I'm not religious, so this wasn't all that interesting to me. I
bet my dad would have liked it, though."
I was pretty depressed, and I started walking glumly back to my
apartment. On my way home, I passed by an old Episcopal church that
seemed sort of different from normal churches—it didn't say anything
about services, but there was a back door open, with loud music
playing inside and a bunch of kids standing out front. I looked
closer, and realized what had happened. Why, it had been turned into
a nightclub! Loud and exciting music thrummed from inside the
sanctuary, where young people like me were dancing and drinking and
having a good time. I thought back to what I had learned earlier
that night, about how freedom and justice and sex were all the same
thing, and how being the Church meant joining the world in the
struggle against patriarchy. Finally, I started to feel good again.
It was going to be a tough fight, but there would be lots of fun
along the way. I smiled, looking up at the nightclub-church, and
thought that maybe we were starting to get it right after all.
Jordan Hylden is a junior fellow at First Things.
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=510
Church gone MAD!!
I came upon this website
Canada Church website recently. If it was not so sad it would be really funny. At first I thought it was a spoof site. Then I discovered it it actually genuine and cost the Church of Canada a bundle of dollars.
Check out the forums, they are absolutely hilarious. There are 'real' people actually discussing 'hot topics' such as 'should children have talking Jesus dolls'.
This is cutting edge discussion on the important issues.
Canada Church website recently. If it was not so sad it would be really funny. At first I thought it was a spoof site. Then I discovered it it actually genuine and cost the Church of Canada a bundle of dollars.
Check out the forums, they are absolutely hilarious. There are 'real' people actually discussing 'hot topics' such as 'should children have talking Jesus dolls'.
This is cutting edge discussion on the important issues.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)